Family mourns teen fatally shot near home

Youth was the second 15-year-old killed in Baltimore last week

A 15 year-old boy was fatally shot Friday night near his home in West Baltimore. He was the second 15-year-old killed in Baltimore last week.

Kaquan Dominic Jenkins of the 3000 block of Walbrook Ave. was shot and killed shortly before 9 p.m. Friday, after what police say was a dispute over money.

At the youth's home yesterday, anger pushed through the pain and tears of Kaquan's aunt, Geraldine Cassell.

"I'm sick and tired of all of it," Cassell said as she sat on the porch of her West Baltimore rowhouse.

Cassell, 60, referred to the violence last week that claimed the lives of at least five people in Baltimore, including her nephew.

The other youth, Dana A. Mayers of the 3400 block of Woodbrook Ave., was fatally wounded in a shooting in the 600 block of N. Carey St. about 10:15 p.m. Monday. The William H. Lemmel Middle School pupil was shot in the torso.

Kaquan was shot once in the back as he tried to run, said homicide Detective Albert Marcus, who said the gunman rode up on a bicycle and shot Jenkins after the two exchanged words. Witnesses said the two argued over money, Marcus said.

One of Kaquan's relatives, who asked not to be named because he witnessed the shooting, said he thinks the assailant thought Kaquan was going to try to steal his bicycle. The assailant fired one shot at Kaquan, who began to run. A second shot hit him in the back, the boy's relative said.

Kaquan collapsed in the yard of a boarded-up rowhouse near his home. Yesterday, a few artificial flowers marked the spot where he fell.

He was a freshman at Walbrook High School, and he often pitched in to help neighbors, Cassell said. He loved playing basketball and football and listening to music, she said.

"When it snowed, he'd shovel for people and make a little change," Cassell said. "And then he'd come in and whatever he made, he would share it with me."

Neighbor Denise Baker, 46, said Kaquan often did yard work for her. "He was a pleasant young man," she said.

Baker and a stream of neighbors and friends stopped by Cassell's house yesterday to offer condolences, bring food and reminisce.

For Cassell, who raised Kaquan - and his three siblings - since he was a toddler, the pain cuts deep.

"Parents can't lay down at night not knowing what's going to happen to their child," Cassell said. "Maybe I was overprotective of him. He'd ask me, `Aunt Geraldine, why can't we go out and play like the other boys?' I would tell him because too much happens out here. It's so sad."